Spring-Cleaning Guide for Pet Owners

Gary Kane | April 24, 2015

Spring Cleaning Your Home: It’s Your Dog’s Home Too

Fling open the windows. Mop the floors. Dust everything from book shelves to fan blades. Spring cleaning is a great way to re-boot your living space, but don’t forget to include your dog’s space in the effort.

When embarking on the annual spring-cleaning ritual, make sure these dog-oriented tasks are on your checklist:

Walk the Yard

No matter how diligent you are about picking up after your dogs, when the snow melts you’re bound to find a few unpleasant surprises. As soon as you see bare ground, take a slow survey of the area around your house and clean up anything you might have missed during the winter. Also, get rid of any downed branches, stones, or other debris that your dog may try to swallow or chew.

Give Hair the Brush-Off

Stray strands and dander are among your biggest housecleaning challenges. In addition to going over every corner and surface with the vacuum, you can improve your chances of making a clean sweep by taking some preparatory steps. On carpets and upholstery, for example, a light misting with water and fabric softener followed by a once-over with a stiff-bristled brush can loosen and pull up embedded hairs. You can also go over surfaces with a lint roller, pet-hair remover, or other hair-grabber after vacuuming.

Clean, Discard Old Toys

Take an inventory of the contents of your dog’s toy chest. If the toys are just dirty, wash them with soap and water. You can put plush and fabric ones in the washing machine. Toss out any toys that are frayed or broken, even if one of them is your dog’s favorite. The upside: You can have fun replacing the playthings that are discarded.

Bring a Sparkle to Their Spaces

Laundering bedding and washing dog dishes should be a regular chore, some recommend a frequency of at least once a week. But there are adjoining areas, such as baseboards surrounding food and water dishes, which may not get attention through the year. This is a good time to make those areas spotless.

Look through the windows around your dog’s favorite places, and wipe away nose and paw prints. Spring is also a good time to give a thorough cleaning to crates and carriers, with a mild soap, like dishwashing detergent, and a highly diluted disinfectant. Many people do a final wipe-down with water, to reduce the chance of pets coming in contact with chemicals.